since if you do point it out, the question becomes "So just exactly why weren't these NGO's using the legitimately 'free' alternatives?"

Some of them are. However, the majority are not, and largely this is because the vast majority of people are not IT experts, and vested interests such as yourself keep trying to loudly insist (aka as 'the big lie') that there is no choice but Microsoft, and that legitimately 'free' alternatives either aren't free or won't work.

If you were indeed an IT guru, and you were genuinely interested in trying to help people with their IT needs, then your position would be the opposite of what it apprently is.